For decades, white Americans have adopted children of color here in the United States and from other countries such as South Korea, Guatemala, China and Ethiopia. In many cases, these children are raised in white families with no awareness of the culture they came from. This was particularly true in
Category: Counseling Today
At the end of the year, many of us think about what we have experienced, witnessed, contributed to and shared. In addition, we might have a twinge of remorse or regret about things such as not exercising more, taking better care of ourselves or spending more time with the people we
Dear Counseling Colleagues, My column this month focuses on serving our multicultural and multiple-identitied clients and students, especially those who are invisibly diverse. An “invisible” person or group might be unidentifiable immediately as a member of a multiracial or multiethnic population. Examples of this might be an individual who identifies
Nearly half of the cigarettes consumed in the United States are smoked by people dealing with a mental illness, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The federal agency says that rates of smoking are disproportionately higher — a little more than double — among those diagnosed
When counselors look to build a board of directors and fill key positions in their nonprofit programs, it is imperative to remember that there are many different types of leaders. Some leaders are great thinkers and developers of new ideas and programs but lack the desire to maintain or reconfigure
To be who you are, you don’t have to wait a lifetime. I knew at age 5 that I was attracted to the same gender. This realization occurred during a time when, in my mind, it was not OK to be gay. I just couldn’t see it. It wouldn’t get
“W hat are you?” That is a question commonly asked of individuals who are multiracial. As a society, we have gotten used to checking off a metaphorical — and often literal — “box” when it comes to questions of race. We seem to expect everyone to “just pick one.” But the
I wake up in the early morning to the sound of birds chirping delightfully outside my window. I quietly make my way to my yoga room, where the gentle flow of the tabletop waterfall cascades rhythmically, inviting me to my morning meditation. I inhale deeply, letting the stream of thoughts
In the client-counselor relationship, describing traumas from past experiences can reveal unresolved suffering in which a client’s beliefs, emotions and behaviors are filled with deep negative images. Ideally, clients will share their trauma with therapists and how images from the past continue to affect them. By describing their trauma, many
It’s been some time since I have conveyed knowledge about a technical concept here in the Technology Tutor column. Now seems like a great time to discuss something that continues to be confusing not just to counselors but also for others who don’t possess inside knowledge of how the internet